Under California Assembly Bill 51, employers may not require employees as a condition of employment to execute arbitration agreements covering claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or the California Labor Code. In Chamber of Commerce of the US v Bonta, the Ninth Circuit will determine whether AB 51 is preempted by the FAA. Though PAGA claims need not meet class action procedural requirements, some courts hold that PAGA claims must nevertheless satisfy a similar standard of manageability. The California Supreme Court recently granted review in Estrada v Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc, 76 Cal. App. 5th 685 (2022) to resolve a split of authority concerning whether trial courts may strike or limit PAGA claims as unmanageable. On a personal level, what drew you to employment law in particular? I was initially a commercial litigator at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, learning from incredibly bright attorneys on ‘bet the company’ cases. But the ‘one and done’ nature of such litigation made it difficult for me to partner with clients so I could help steer their day-to-day business operations. After friends practicing employment law confirmed that working in this area would allow me to more deeply integrate with my clients, I joined Seyfarth Shaw in 2015. Being an employment lawyer has delivered on all fronts. I regularly work with the same clients on multiple cases, which gives me a significant understanding of their businesses. I then use lessons learned from litigation and attempt to predict future legal precedent to modify my clients’ policies and practices to minimise their liability. I love the challenge of finding creative legal solutions that meet my clients’ business preferences. My deep interest in employment law and desire to achieve great results for my clients make it easy to work very hard and passionately at my job. I was thus very proud to be recognised last year by the National Hispanic Bar Association as one of the top lawyers under 40 across the US. Can you share anything about your plans for 2023? Given my interest in policy, I want to argue a case before the California Supreme Court that defines a far-reaching part of California employment law. On a personal level, I want to dedicate more time to international travel with my wife and parents, publishing op-eds about US foreign policy (I have written extensively about China’s rise and other international security issues in the Indo-Pacific region), playing pickleball, and putting more miles on my Peloton tread. FEATUREOF THEMONTH 17 Contact Paul J. Leaf Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP 2029 Century Park East, Suite 3500, Los Angeles, California 90067-3021, USA Tel: +1 213-270-9724 Fax: +1 310-551-8449 E: pleaf@seyfarth.com www.seyfarth.com About Paul J. Leaf Paul J. Leaf is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He represents businesses in employment and commercial disputes, with a focus on wage and hour class actions and representative PAGA actions. Paul also defends companies against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of fiduciary duty, wrongful termination, non-compete and nonsolicitation. Paul enjoys leveraging lessons learned from litigation and anticipating future legal developments to draft forward-looking personnel policies for his clients in order to prevent lawsuits altogether. Seyfarth Shaw LLP Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide. With approximately 900 lawyers across 17 offices, Seyfarth Shaw and its employment group consistently earn top spots in national rankings of law firms.
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